In these times of doom and gloom, it is good to know there is a lighter side of the asset-management industry. We are speaking, of course, of Scottish fund manager Martin Currie Ltd. and the enjoyment to be had from perusing its list of words and phrases now banned from client reports and trustee meetings.

Two that caught Deal Journal's eye are "foreigner" -- said to be common in Japanese market reports but just a 1980s pop group to the fund manager -- and "space," which Martin Currie suggests is the "final...